Bulk billing rises in regional Victoria

THE proportion of doctors’ visits bulk billed across regional Victoria over the past 12 months has increased to 77.1 per cent, figures released by the federal government have revealed.

This marks an increase of 2.8 percentage points, up from 74.3 per cent since October last year, equating to an additional 585,900 bulk billed visits to the GP.

Statewide, bulk billed consultations now account for 78.2 per cent of all doctors’ visits, up 1.4 percentage points from 76.8 per cent.

The boost follows the tripling of incentives in November 2023 for practitioners to bulk bill children under 16, concession card holders and pensioners.

Since the new financial rewards were introduced, about 90 per cent of GP visits with children under the age of 16 have been bulk billed.

“Labor introduced Medicare 40 years ago and we have defended and strengthened it ever since,” Health Minister Mark Butler said.

“If we’re going to strengthen Medicare after a decade of cuts and neglect, we need more doctors and we need more bulk billing.

“Now, we know it is still tough to find a doctor, still tough to find a bulk billing doctor in parts of the country, but we are starting to turn a corner.

“We know there’s more to do and we’re committed to doing more in Medicare.”

Corangamite MP Libby Coker said residents on the Bellarine, Surf Coast and the greater Geelong region have been some of the “biggest winners” from the government’s bulk billing investment.

“This is delivering significant cost of living for people in our community,” she said.

In its annual Health of the Nation report, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) reported that one in four GPs has increased the proportion of consultations they bulk bill over the past 12 month.

However, the cost of care also appears to be on the rise, with the average fee for a 20-minute consultation increasing from $74.66 last year to $78.26, an increase of almost $4.

“Patients are paying a larger share of the true cost of their medical visits, putting a greater financial burden on households, as indexation of Medicare rebates have not kept up with inflation,” the report reads.

RACGP’s Dr Toby Gardner said there was still a lot to do and called for an increase to the Medicare rebates for those who don’t get bulk billed.

“We’re bulk billing 70 per cent of the population, but if we don’t look after that 30 per cent who are finding the cost of living harder and harder that we privately bill…they’re going to become the vulnerable group,” he said.